Daughter of Heaven
by Darling Pretty
Summary: Daughter of heaven, oh daughter of now/ the stars are you jewels; the moon is your crown/ we all stand in awe at your right to astound/ she's gone to a new place now." Alex hasn't slept in 48 hours. Addison/Alex. WARNING: Character death. Oneshot.


**I don't want to say too much here. I'm just going to say that this is the saddest thing I've ever written and leave it at that.**

**Grey's Anatomy doesn't belong to me, and the absolutely gorgeous song "Daughter of Heaven" is the sole creation of Kate Rusby.**

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_Daughter of heaven, oh daughter of now,  
Drifting away and you don't make a sound  
We'll cry when we hear that you've ran from this town  
She's gone to a new place now; she's gone to a new place now_

He hasn't slept in almost forty-eight hours. Forty-eight hours spent by her bedside, waiting, hoping for hope. The longer he goes with out sleep, the easier it is for him to believe that he's hoping in vain.

Others have been in and out of the room, but he's the one mainstay. Others have tried to relieve him, saying that they'll take up his vigil, but he refuses to leave.

_Daughter of heaven, oh daughter of now,  
__The stars are your jewels; the moon is your crown  
__We all stand in awe at your right to astound,  
__She's gone to a new place now; she's gone to a new place now_

She was running from him.

She never said that, and certainly there were other determining factors in her decision to leave, but he knows instinctively that she was running from him. The guilt he feels in his chest is enough to suffocate him.

The nurse accidently drops her chart. It makes a loud clattering noise as it hits the tiles. The sound shocks Alex out of his sleep-deprived stupor. It takes him a minute to readjust to hearing the steady beeping of the monitors.

The hospital is silent. Everyone recognizes that one of their own is in danger. It's a sobering idea.

_Daughter of heaven, oh daughter of now,  
__Your eyes they were closed, and your hands they were bound,  
__There's a time in the past that I helped you come down,  
__She's gone to a new place now; she's gone to a new place now_

Shepherd says she may never wake up. Or she may wake up and be severely brain damaged. Even if she miraculously wakes up completely fine mentally, her quality of life will never be the same. Her injuries are too extensive.

She's slipping away from them.

She's slipping away from _him_. She was running and now one stupid, drunk man has left her fighting for her life, perched precariously on a ledge that could crumble at any minute.

Every minute that she stays asleep robs from her odds of survival. If she doesn't wake up within the next twenty-four hours… Derek has talked to Alex. Alex has no legal right to be informed, but Derek isn't dumb. He has realized that Alex has stayed by her bedside this entire time, and had informed him of her decision, along with her family. She wanted seventy-two hours to wake up, she had told him before any of this, seventy-two hours and then she wanted to be let go. After seventy-two hours, she would be a burden, she felt. No one is feeling that she's a burden.

_Daughter of heaven, oh daughter of now,  
__Drifting away and you don't make a sound  
__We'll cry when we hear that you've ran from this town  
__She's gone to a new place now; she's gone to a new place now_

She's not able to survive without life support.

If she's not able to pull herself out, they should respect her wishes. But pulling the plug on her? Extinguishing such a bright light so soon? It doesn't make sense. But she doesn't want to suffer and she doesn't want to make others suffer.

Alex survives the remaining twenty-four hours with a few catnaps. People bring him food that they make him eat. He never wants to eat again.

Her family struggles over the decision to take her off life support. Exactly eighty-one hours after she slipped into the coma, they decide to honor her wishes. They invite Alex to be there.

She lingers for an hour, fighting until the very end. They can tell when she's about to go. Alex steps forward, and before them all, kisses her softly, hoping that maybe somewhere, she's forgiving him and knowing that he loves her.

Her mother and father hold her hands. Her mother weeps openly; her father is more staid, but tears are running down his face. Parents should not outlive their children.

There's a moment, fleeting but powerful, and they know that she's gone. Alex calls it, his own face not free of tears.

Addison Forbes Montgomery: time of death, 9:27.

_She's gone to a new place now._

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**I did tell you it was depressing. A couple of reviews would be nice.**

**-Juli-**


End file.
